Introduction
Legal problems are often complex and involve the use of a lot of money. That is why, when looking for a lawyer, the lawyer should be the best in terms of offering you strategic advice, showing you how to apply sophisticated technical skills to legal problems as well as represent you well before the judge and jury. The lawyer should also be able to act as your consultant and educate you on any legal coaching you may need. Therefore, the question might arise in your mind; how do you find yourself the lawyer who is best? Here are a few tips on how you can go about it.
Step 1
Ask and Ask some more: It is always prudent to talk to people in the community or your friends how have experience the same legal problem that you are currently experiencing. Ask them who the lawyer who got them out was and what quality of service they were able to deliver to the clients. Talk to as many people as you can so that you can come away with many referrals. This gives you a large template to choose from.
Step 2
Check online: There are some online websites such as Nolo.com that provide a channel through which you can contact local lawyers on your location and in relevance to your legal case as well. Nolo.com is a lawyer directory. It has the profiles of each lawyer along with information that helps you select the lawyer that is right for you. You can get to look at the lawyer in terms of his experience, education and fees as well as their general philosophy of law practice. Nolo.com only lists lawyers who have made it through the bar and have a valid license as well.
Step 3
Check with lawyer referral services: These services provide for the screening of lawyers. It helps in listing the lawyers who have particular qualifications as well as certain duration of experience in order for you to find the lawyer most suitable for you. This goes a notch higher than other services that may just list the lawyer who is in good standing as far as the state bar is concerned. A piece of information that you may not get here, however, is the lawyer philosophy as far as their law practice is concerned.
Tip 4
Look for a specialist: A specialist is the lawyer who has specialized in a certain area of law as opposed to a general practitioner. These are not many, but they are good and specialized at what they do. They may charge a little more than the general practitioners, but most of the time, they are worth their salt and your time and money as well.
Meet the lawyer in person: Meeting the lawyer over the phone or on the internet is not enough. Once you give them a call, ask for an appointment. The first appointment for the lawyer should be a free consultation. This will give you an opportunity to assess their personality in terms of the rapport that you are building with the lawyer. Whether or not you feel comfortable with this lawyer is important because once you hire them, you will be seeing a lot more of each other. Also, in the process of meeting them in person, you can get to ask them about the mode or channel of contact that you will be having with them so you can assess just how accessible they will be. It is said that many lawyers are terrible communicators. It is important for you to have this pinned down, and give you a chance to mention the importance you place on communication.
